Jeshuaists, Carrying the name of Christ

2017-10-312017-11-01 ~ jeshuaist

In Christendom we do find many names. This month it is the commemoration of 500 years of Protestantism. On the 500th anniversary of the Reformation it is not bad that people look back on all those denominations which came into existing.

October 31, 1517 Martin Luther marched up to the church in Wittenberg, a small town in what is now Germany, and nailed a list of criticisms of the Catholic church to its door.

On last year’s 499th anniversary, Pope Francis joined leaders of the Lutheran World Federation in Sweden (where Lutheranism is the dominant religion) to hold a joint commemorative service. In his address, Francis said:

“We have the opportunity to mend a critical moment of our history by moving beyond the controversies and disagreements that have often prevented us from understanding one another.”

After 500 years of division, there seems to be a consensus from the top that this anniversary will be one of reconciliation.

All those people from the many denominations which came into existence call themselves Christian, using the title Jeshua received as the sent one from God. But when we look at many of denominations, most of them do not keep to the teachings of that Christ and even made the Christ Jesus into their god.

It is now five centuries since the start of the process that led Protestants to break away from the Roman Catholic Church, a revolution for the Christian religion. But people should know that all those years there have been true Christians, real followers of Christ who did prefer to keep to the teachings of the rebbe Jeshua, having the same One True God as the master teacher and his disciples. Not agreeing with the false Trinity dogma and the way the Catholic church went, they continued to follow the church structure of the first century. Today though many of those followers belong to non-trinitarian churches which are considered part of Protestantism or worse, being considered sects and/or cults. There are the many Biblestudents and Jehovah’s Witnesses and several smaller groups like Christadelphians and Nazarene Friends and/or Nazarenes.

You may wonder what it means to carry a name. But you should know that carrying a name is very important and shows something to the outside world of your personality or your position.

In the readings of October 31 which Christadelphian and Jeshuaists use, there is the reflection of Acts 9 with its account of the divinely initiated dramatic conversion of Saul (soon to be called Paul).

As Saul neared Damascus intending to bring any believers in Christ he found there “bound to Jerusalem” (verse 2) “suddenly a light from heaven shone around him” (verse 3). He hears a voice, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” (verse 4) and is told, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting” (verse 5); and to go into the city and it will be told him what he is to do. He is led blind into Damascus “and for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank” (verse 9) – a sort of counterpart to Jesus being three days in the tomb. The Lord instructs Ananias, a disciple in Damascus, to go to Saul and tells him where to find him and “lay hands on him” (verse 12). Ananias is very concerned about this instruction, “But the Lord said to him, ‘Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles’” (verse 15). {Christadelphian Magazine thought of the day}

From the writings of Dr. Luke we come to hear that the devote Jew Saul, soon came to be known as Paul, spearheads the carrying of Christ’s name, God’s message of salvation through His Son. In doing this he sets the example to others like Silas, Titus and Timothy to do the same. These are among the examples that have come down to us today!

At first the brothers and sisters in Christ of the first century of this common era where known as followers of Jeshua and considered part of the Jewish sect “The Way“. In later years more and more people wanted to put the accent on the salvation part and the anointed man, referring to the Kristos or Christ, calling his followers Christians. But after several church-leaders agreed with the Roman emperor to come in line with the Roman-Greek philosophy and going for a three-headed god, there came a spot on that name and therefore Jews would not like to be taken for worshippers of such a Trinity. for that reason we should still see ourselves as chosen people by God and as

“chosen … to carry Christ’s name”

wherever an opportunity is available – until he come!

Therefore let us not be afraid to say to others that we are Jeshuaists, real followers of Jeshua, not worshipping the three-une god of so many Christians but worshipping the Only One True God of Israel, the God of Jesus and his disciples , Who is the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Who created heaven and earth and Who is the Only One omnipotent, omniscient, eternal Spirit Supreme Being, God above all gods.